A detailed analysis of Shavkat Rakhmonov's fight against Ian Garry reveals several key strengths. Rakhmonov showed significant progress in his mid-range striking compared to his bout against Geoff Neal, consistently landing strong single shots including jabs, overhand rights, left hooks, and spinning backfists. He dominated the clinch for the first four rounds, regularly taking Garry's back and controlling him with deep underhooks. Rakhmonov became the only fighter in UFC history to successfully take Garry down in the center of the octagon, achieving this twice and taking mount position. The analysis notes that Rakhmonov's main weakness was his inactivity at long range, where he landed very few leg kicks and conceded significant points to Garry's kicking game. Despite this, Rakhmonov won the mid-range and close-range battles decisively, which are considered the two most important distances in MMA.
A post-fight breakdown of Shavkat Rakhmonov's unanimous decision victory over Ian Garry has highlighted the Kazakhstani contender's growing technical arsenal and underscored just how thoroughly he controlled the majority of their welterweight clash.
Rakhmonov, known as "Nomad," enters the record books at 19-0-0 and sits ranked third in the welterweight division at just 31 years old. Standing six-foot-four with a 77-inch reach, the orthodox fighter out of DAR Team has built his undefeated reputation on high striking accuracy — connecting on 60 percent of his significant strikes — while also averaging 1.4 takedowns and 1.2 submission attempts per 15 minutes, making him a genuine threat at every range.
The analysis draws a clear line of improvement between Rakhmonov's performance against Garry and his earlier outing against Geoff Neal. His mid-range output sharpened considerably, with consistent single shots — jabs, overhand rights, left hooks, and spinning backfists — keeping Garry off-rhythm across the first four rounds. In the clinch, Rakhmonov was particularly dominant, regularly securing Garry's back and controlling position with deep underhooks. Most strikingly, he became the only fighter in UFC history to take Garry down in the center of the octagon, doing so twice and advancing to mount on both occasions.
The breakdown does identify one area where Rakhmonov conceded ground: his inactivity at long range left Garry's kicking game largely unchallenged, and the Irishman accumulated meaningful points from that distance. Still, the assessment frames mid-range and close-range fighting as the two most consequential distances in MMA, and Rakhmonov won both convincingly.
Why it matters
- Rakhmonov's 19-0-0 record and third-place divisional ranking make every performance a direct statement in the welterweight title picture
- Becoming the first fighter to take Garry down in the open octagon signals a potential blueprint others may attempt to replicate
- His lone identified weakness — long-range passivity — gives future opponents a specific target to exploit
